JPTV is completely run by students, and features two programs as well as the Digital Bulletin. JPTV Live is the daily program which delivers current announcements submitted by students and teachers. The weekly program, The Truth in Silver and Blue, features stories compiled by students, which cover school and community events that matter to the over 3000 students at JPT.

    JPTV is also responsible for producing other video projects, such as Elective Highlights, and Taravella’s Senior Video, Memories in Motion.

“JPTV Live” hit the airwaves at J.P. Taravella High School on May 25, 1990.  It was created by student Jason Feldman and then yearbook adviser, Ms. Susan Orlas. The JPTV studio and control room were located in a small area of the school’s media center. With approximately five to ten students actively working on the broadcast, “JPTV Live” aired for 10 minutes every Friday. These ambitious students filled ten minutes with segments on club activities, sports and world news. During the Florida Scholastic Press Association (FSPA Convention in 1990, “JPTV Live” took home the third place award for the On-the-Spot Broadcasting Category.

     JPTV faced the 1990-1991 school year under the leadership of student Andrew Odze and the new adviser, Mr. Robin Puryear. The studio and control room were still housed in the media center, but as a result of the school’s participation in Broward Teen News, a new editing system and a 3-chip camera were added to the equipment inventory. The weekly live broadcast was expanded to 15 minutes and included many new features and segments. JPTV earned a first-place award in the pre-judged broadcast competition and third place in on-the-spot division.                

    Dhiren Chauhan and Nicole Leavitt shared the responsibility of directing the broadcast for the 1991-1992 school year. The facilities outgrew the media center and were moved to a classroom large enough to include a news set and a glass enclosed control room. A staff of fifty students produced programming five days per week.

    The program continued growth during the 1990s, and ended the decade with Beth Hoffman agreeing to be the new teacher and adviser of JPTV Production for the 1999-2000 school year. Twenty-five crew members wrote, produced, and broadcast a ten-minute news/information show once a month.  Students continued contributing to Broward Teen News every other month. Laura Devine, a senior leader of the class, produced the first senior video yearbook, “Memories in Motion.” With the help of the class, seventy copies were sold and distributed to the senior class, earning $650. Students also raised money by selling commercials to local businesses that were produced and aired on JPTV programs, earning $350.  Ten students attended the FSPA District 7 Convention at Dillard High School, where they competed in an On-the-Spot competition for Team News Anchor and won 2nd Place. They also attended the FSPA State Convention, bringing back new ideas and motivation to the program. 

    JPTV students crossed into the digital era in the fall of 2000. With the help of BTN and a supportive new principal, the program was given $17,000 worth of digital cameras and non-linear editing stations. Students continued to sell commercials, upping the price to $50 for producing and airing an advertisement. Students created a logo for JPTV and displayed it on their Video Club T-shirts. Broward Teen News recognized JPTV students for their contributions to BTN and “Best Footage” for their Air Force Package. After competing at the FSPA District Convention students won Third-place in the News Package competition. At the FSPA State Convention, students earned an Honorable Mention for their Broadcast Feature Package.

     Motivated to improve the program, students returned to school two weeks before classes began for the 2001-2002 school year, painting the classroom studio area and building a new JPTV Logo to be hung on the set. In addition, they got an early start teaming as a crew, and planning for the upcoming school year. Called “New Crew Week,” this JPTV tradition continued during the 2002-2003 school year. 

    In the 2003-2004 school year, students continued the tradition of “New Crew Week.” JPTV earned numerous awards including at FSPA’s State Convention, including 3rd place for PSA Carry-in, Video Journalism, and Feature Package, and first place for Sports Carry-In, and News Package Carry-In.  In addition, Broward Teen News awarded JPTV a Best Footage award for its “Shop with a Jock” package, and its “Christmas on Las Olas” Package earned Best Reporting and Best Overall BTN honors. 

    Ms. Hoffman left Taravella in 2004. She was replaced by Ms. Miller. For the 2004-2005 school year, Monica Murillo ’05 led the crew as JPTV Producer, with Veronica Ball ‘05, Asher Levine 06’ and Tatiana Garcia-Rizo ‘06, directing JPTV’s “Live,” and “Truth in Silver and Blue,” programs. The “Live” crew experimented with standing sets and a casual wardrobe, and the “Truth” set was partly refurbished. Successful fundraisers included commercial sales, the “Night of Dance Video,” produced by Tatiana Garcia-Rizo, and the senior video, “Memories in Motion”, co-produced by Jaymee Norman ‘06 and Shiri Svenman ’05. At the FSPA District 7 Convention students took second place in Scriptwriting. At the FSPA State Competition, JPTV entered the “Every Student Has A Story” competition for the first time, earning third-place. Another first: students took first place in the On-the-Spot Reporting category. The “Truth in Silver and Blue” evaluation show was ranked third-place.

    The 2005-2006 school year combined the “Live and “Truth” classes into one. This, along with a modified school year due to Hurricane Wilma, proved a great challenge but veteran JPTV students successfully met it with spirit and tenacity. Under the direction of crew leaders Asher Levine, Producer, and Taylor Reeh, Jaymee Norman, Leah Hankins and Tatiana-Garcia, Jason Zukor, Directors, quality versions of both programs were done throughout the year. In addition to placing in the scriptwriting and video journalism contests at FSPA Districts, JPTV earned Third-place in the “Everybody Has a Story” category and placed second in “Feature Package-  Editing” at the FSPA State Convention—its first time entering the latter competition. Crowning JPTV’s achievements,” The Truth in Silver and Blue” earned a highly coveted “All Florida” ranking for the 2005-2006 school year, a distinction which was recognized by its inclusion in the FSPA publication “Best of the Best 2005-2006.”

    Nicole Cooper and Jamey Penca took on the task of leading the JPTV crew for the 2006-2007 school year. After much preparation, and with the full knowledge that the “New "New" Building," also known as “The Grand,“ was not wired for TV, “JPTV Live” premiered on September 12, 2006.  Much to the disappointment of students, JPTV staff and the JPTV crew, the BECON connection was not working and no video could be sent out to the school. This setback did not prevent our crew from earning 2nd Place in the On-the-spot Video Photojournalism category at the FSPA District 7 workshop that fall, but it did pose challenges to both crew and student body morale. Monthly editions of “The Truth in Silver and Blue” were produced and showed on videotape in the cafeteria while BECON, still overwhelmed by Hurricane Wilma repair requests at other schools, kept us awaiting repair.  Back on the air in December, much to the crew’s dismay, “The Grand” was still not wired. However, the crew went on to resume producing “JPTV Live” daily, and the “Truth in Silver and Blue,” monthly. A brainstorming session led to the development of a brand new segment, “Song of the Month,” which got the staff and student body singing hit songs on the air. At the FSPA State Convention in April, JPTV took home First Place for its “Reality Round-up” News Package, produced by seniors Nicole Cooper and Leanne Iorio, Second Place for the PSA “Drugs Kill”, produced by Pati Borja and Toni Cianciaruli. For the first time ever, JPTV also placed in the Individual News Anchor category. Senior Christine Skubala earned third place in that on-the-spot competition.

    The returning crew kicked off the 2007-2008 school year by coming in over the summer to revamp the sets for “JPTV Live” and “The Truth in Silver and Blue.” Pati Borja served as JPTV Producer, with Mario Ramos and Danny Krkuc, also leading the crew along with Alex Dematteis and Anne Urist.  At the FSPA District 7 Workshop, senior Haley Carr and sophomore Mario Ramos earned second place in the “Every Student Has a Story” competition judged by CBS Photojournalist Les Rose. The year was also marked by JPTV’s increased participation in Broward Teens News, with Mario Ramos serving as a Staff Reporter.

   One of the many highlights of the 2008-2009 school year was the return of “The Truth in Silver and Blue” as a weekly show. In a year typified by firsts, JPTV went online, providing 24-hour access to our programs, and opportunities for feedback. For the first time, the JPT marquee became our “Truth” set, and all shows taped on campus captured the pulse of our serene surroundings. Leading the crew as producer, Mario Ramos also took JPTV to the national competition level for the first time, earning a first place feature package win at the Student Television Network’s spring convention. At FSPA Districts, he and senior Kim Kraft, earned third place in the on-the-spot scriptwriting contest. While the Truth show regained its audience, JPTV Live continued delivering Taravella’s daily dose of announcements.

    After earning an “All Florida” evaluation for “The Truth,” and a Silver Award for a feature on “Saggy Pants”, produced by Mark Rosa and Amanda Nicholas, the crew was primed to earn more prizes at the FSPA spring convention. Nine students from both teams traveled to Tampa to compete. Sadly, although the crew earned five awards out of seven carry-in and in on-the-spot entries, all of JPT’s publications were disqualified from the on-the-spot competitions due to some poor choices on the part of the some of the school’s journalism students. JPTV was allowed to keep three carry-in awards (2nd place Every Student Has a Story; 2nd place Website, and Honorable mention (Show Intro). But our Honorable Mentions in the Video Photojournalism and Feature Package Editing categories were purged from FSPA’s records. The crew, however, rallied after these disappointments, producing a commentary about the misjudgments, quashing rumor and rising to a new level of ethics in the program. 

    With 2010 marking the twentieth anniversary of JPTV at Taravella, the 2009-2010 school year promises to be one of interesting reflection on years past, while we keep our programs abreast with social networking and other technologies.